The issue of resuming direct air communication between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan was discussed in Dushanbe today at a meeting between of Tajikistan’s Prime Minister Qohir Rasoulzoda and the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Adilbek Kasymaliyev.
The press service of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan says the meeting focused on the prospects for developing trade and economic relations between the two countries.
"The parties assessed the need to restore direct flights between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as an important factor for expanding bilateral cooperation," says a statement posted on the Kyrgyz Cabinet's website.
It is not specified when this will occur.
Additionally, during the meeting, the sides discussed increasing trade turnover between the two countries to US$500 million by 2030.
While in Tajikistan. Kasymaliyev will also visit the Roghun hydroelectric power plant.
The Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers also Head of the President's Office of Kyrgyzstan, Adilbek Kasymaliyev, arrived in Tajikistan on March 4 for a one-day working visit.
The border of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan has been the scene of unrest repeatedly since the collapse of the former Soviet Union. Border talks between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan began in 2002. Unresolved border issues have led to tensions for the past 30 years.
Tensions between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have remained high until recently, owing to a border dispute, as well as other issues involving irrigation, smuggling, and illegal border crossings.
This dispute has led to clashes between the two countries. Kyrgyzstan unilaterally closed the border with Tajikistan in spring 2021.
When the border closed, official trade turnover plummeted to nothing. Smugglers continued to ply their wares across the border, however.
In December last year, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan announced that they had tentatively reached agreement on the delimitation of their 987-kilometer-long frontier.
